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This ramen noodle salad is cool, crunchy, salty-sweet, and comes together in about 20 minutes, including the five minutes you spend stirring noodles in a skillet. You’re going to love the buttery toasted ramen, crisp napa cabbage, and tangy sesame dressing. Don’t walk away from those noodles, by the way.
Why You’ll Love It
- Crunchy texture — crisp napa cabbage, sweet carrots, and buttery toasted ramen in every bite.
- Budget-friendly ingredients — simple ramen, cabbage, carrots, and pantry staples make an inexpensive salad.
- Balanced sesame dressing — soy Sauce, rice vinegar, honey, ginger, Garlic, and sesame oil bring tangy-sweet flavor.
- Goes with everything — serve it alongside burgers, grilled Chicken, steak, salmon, or hot dogs, or add chicken, shrimp, or tofu for lunch.
Ingredient Notes
Use the basic inexpensive ramen noodle packets—the kind tucked low on the grocery shelf. Any flavor works because you are not using the seasoning packets. Set them aside for another use if you like, or toss them. Just don’t accidentally dump one into the salad.
Napa cabbage is especially nice here because it’s tender and crisp without being harsh. Regular green cabbage can work if that’s what you have, though it has a sturdier bite. Bagged shredded carrots are a handy option when you’re in a hurry.
For the almonds and sesame seeds, toasted really does matter. The recipe calls for toasted versions, and they give the salad that warm, nutty flavor that makes it feel more special than its grocery list suggests. If your almonds are already toasted, you are ahead of the game.
Ginger paste is one of those refrigerator-door ingredients worth keeping on hand. It mixes evenly into the dressing and saves you from peeling a knob of ginger that has been rolling around in the produce drawer since Tuesday. Freshly minced garlic is worth it, though. It’s only one clove.
Ingredients
- 2 packs ramen noodles, with the seasoning packets discarded or saved for something else
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
- 1 1/2 cups shredded napa cabbage
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds
For the dressing:
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons canola oil, or another neutral-tasting oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Start by breaking the ramen noodles into little bite-sized pieces while they are still inside their packages. This keeps noodles from flying across the counter, mostly. Open the packets, pull out the seasoning envelopes, and discard them or save them for another recipe.
Set a skillet over medium heat and add the butter along with 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil. Once the butter melts, add the broken ramen noodles. Stir them frequently for about 5 minutes, until they are golden brown and smell toasty and wonderful. Keep an eye on them—medium heat is not a suggestion here. The noodles can go from golden to bitter little charcoal sticks surprisingly fast. Remove the skillet from the heat and let the noodles cool slightly.
While those noodles are cooling, put the shredded napa cabbage, carrots, green onions, toasted sesame seeds, and toasted sliced almonds into a big salad bowl. Add the toasted noodles once they have cooled a bit. They don’t need to be cold; you just don’t want them piping hot against the cabbage, unless you enjoy wilted salad, which is not the goal here.
In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, canola oil, remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, ginger paste, minced garlic, and black pepper. Whisk until the honey is blended in and the dressing looks smooth. Give it a taste if you want. It will seem strong on its own—that’s normal. Once it hits all that cabbage and ramen, it settles down.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently until everything is coated. Salad tongs work, but two big spoons work just fine. Add a little extra green onion, sesame seeds, or almonds over the top if you’re feeling fancy. Serve it right away while those noodles are still at their crunchiest.
The whole thing takes about 20 minutes, including the inevitable moment where you open the refrigerator, stare into it blankly, and forget why you opened it.
Variations
If you want to turn this into more of a meal, add grilled chicken breast, cooked shrimp, or pan-seared tofu.
You can also work in bell Peppers, sugar snap peas, or thinly sliced radishes if you have them around. All three work well when you have extra produce on hand.
One version with cucumber was fine for about ten minutes, then it got watery and a little sad. Not terrible, just not worth repeating. Let the cabbage do its crisp, dependable thing. Regular green cabbage can stand in for napa cabbage if needed, and it gives the salad a heartier chew.
Storage & Reheating
This ramen noodle salad is best the day you make it. That crunchy ramen is the point, after all. Still, leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
By the next day, the noodles soften as they soak up the dressing. The flavor remains good, just less crunchy.
There is no reheating involved here. Please don’t reheat cabbage salad.
Final Notes
There’s something a little charming about taking two cheap ramen packages and turning them into a salad worth remembering. Not in a grand, life-changing way. But it’s the sort of bowl that sits on the table during a loud summer dinner, with the grill going and bug spray nearby, and then suddenly it’s nearly gone.
That’s enough.
Make it when you need a side dish fast, when the kitchen feels too hot, when you have cabbage staring at you from the refrigerator and no real plan. Make extra almonds. And maybe keep the skillet nearby for any extra crunchy noodles.
Ramen Noodle Salad
Ingredients Â
- 2 packs ramen noodles seasoning packets discarded or saved for another use
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil divided
- 1 1/2 cups shredded napa cabbage
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons canola oil or another neutral-tasting oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 1 clove garlic finely minced
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
InstructionsÂ
- Break the ramen noodles into little bite-sized pieces while they are still inside their packages, then open the packets and remove and discard or save the seasoning envelopes for another recipe.
- Set a skillet over medium heat and add the butter with 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil; once the butter melts, add the broken ramen noodles and stir frequently for about 5 minutes, until golden brown and toasty.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and let the toasted noodles cool slightly so they are not piping hot when added to the cabbage.
- Place the shredded napa cabbage, carrots, green onions, toasted sesame seeds, and toasted sliced almonds in a large salad bowl, then add the slightly cooled toasted noodles.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, canola oil, remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, ginger paste, minced garlic, and black pepper until the honey is blended in and the dressing looks smooth.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently until everything is coated, then serve right away while the noodles are still at their crunchiest.